Montreal, June 10, 2025 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) welcomes Canada’s targeted sanctions against far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, which were announced today in a joint statement with the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Norway. Foreign Minister Anand says that the sanctions are in response to “inciting violence against Palestinians” and rhetoric calling for Palestinians to be “driven from their homes.” The specific measures include asset freezes and bans on entering the country. CJPME urges Canada not to focus on a few extremist individuals, but to broaden its sanctions to include additional Israeli political and military leaders who are responsible for crimes against humanity and genocide.

“These sanctions are a welcome first step, as they represent the very first example of Canada imposing real consequences on Israeli leaders for their crimes against the Palestinian people. But nobody should pretend that these two individuals are alone responsible for Israel’s crimes of genocide and annexation,” said Michael Bueckert, Acting President of CJPME. “Smotrich and Ben-Gvir may be the most extreme examples in terms of their genocidal rhetoric, but it is the broader Israeli leadership and military who are putting those genocidal words into action,” Bueckert added.

CJPME has been urging Canada to take action against these specific ministers for years, following their election in late 2022 as part of Israel’s extremist far-right coalition. Since then, Finance Minister Smotrich has led efforts to accelerate settlement expansion and illegally annex the occupied West Bank, while Public Safety Minister Ben-Gvir has overseen torture camps of Palestinian detainees and facilitated settler terrorism in the West Bank. Last year, CJPME raised serious questions about a possible partnership between Ben-Gvir and Public Safety Canada, despite a career overtly linked to terrorism against Palestinians. At the same time, CJPME has repeatedly insisted that the blame for Israel’s war crimes cannot fall upon these individuals alone, but must be shared by Israel’s broader political and military leadership.

“Canada already had more than enough reason to sanction these ghoulish war criminals over two years ago, when they first came to power. There is no question that Smotrich and Ben-Gvir deserve these long-overdue sanctions, but they cannot take the fall for Israel’s campaign to destroy the Palestinian people. Canada must sanction the entire Israeli leadership,” said Bueckert.

Today’s announcement comes one month after Prime Minister Carney issued a joint statement with France and the UK threatening “concrete actions” against Israel if it did not stop its military assault on Gaza and settlement expansion in the West Bank. Since then, the Israeli government has doubled down on its criminal agenda, while Canadian officials have refused to answer questions about what forms of sanctions they are considering. In addition to the sanctions announced today, CJPME reiterates that an adequate response to genocide and manufactured famine in Gaza must include the following at a minimum:

• Impose a two-way arms embargo on Israel under the Special Economic Measures Act;
• Sanction Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders responsible for war crimes;
• Cancel the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement (CIFTA) and prohibit all trade with illegal Israeli settlements;
• Expel the Israeli ambassador;
• Support the International Criminal Court and assist in the arrest and prosecution of Netanyahu and Gallant; and
• Join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.